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Women's health issues permeate 'Boardwalk,' 'Walking Dead'

By: Jon Weisman
Published: Mon, November 05, 2012, 10:26 AM
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The timing of the episodes was coincidental, but it struck me nevertheless that two nights before Election Day, "Boardwalk Empire" and "The Walking Dead" each had significant plot points in storylines involving contraception and women's reproductive health. Brief spoilers from the episodes follow.

KellyThe "Boardwalk" episode depicted the ongoing plight of two women seeking to obtain diaphragms and the implications of being at the mercy of a system that discourages it, a system that some choosing the president would advocate returning to. "The Walking Dead," meanwhile, illustrated the perils of pregnancy and childbirth without proper pre-natal care and medical supervision.

It's one thing for a woman to endure the trials of Margaret (Kelly Macdonald) or Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) during the 1920s or a zombie apocalypse, it's another to allow this to happen in conventional 21st-century America.  The climate for these and other women's health issues will be decidedly different depending on the results of Tuesday's election.

Posted: Mon, November 05, 2012, 10:26 AM

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Christy GroszA native of Los Angeles raised by two parents and "Hill Street Blues," Jon Weisman ankled his scriptwriting career and began working for Variety in 2004, subsequently serving as associate editor of features and television reporter before becoming awards editor. He promises not to use this platform to retroactively campaign for Oscars for “The Misfits,” though he’d feel justified in doing so.
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